Believe it or not, it took thirty days for us to open our pool. We took the cover off on Memorial Day weekend. It sat there, like a festering green swamp for about a week before James could head out to the pool store to grab some supplies. And then for days and days and days, it remained green. And then a little less green. And then neon yellow. Scummy. Algae infested. Cloudy. Murky. Throw in any adjective that could make it seem disgusting, and that’s what it was. He took samples in. Put chlorine in. Put shock in. Took more samples in. Put in more thirty seven dollar bottles of chemicals. Vacuumed and vacuumed until he had gotten the whole load of junk on the bottom and the water line was now fourteen inches lower. And we were aggravated and frustrated that the first three weeks of June passed and still the pool was unswimmable. In one final desperation, he found some old chemicals that we hadn’t tried yet in the pool storage, and we dumped it all in, not caring how much we were supposed to use. We woke up the next morning to a clean and ready to use pool. It was a miracle! Brayden was beyond thrilled.

Inground pools are frustrating. They are expensive to open and expensive to maintain. They are truly ugly in the winter when they are all covered up in a less than appealing way. The cement around them cracks and looks terrible.

But the joy that it brings our boys is unmatchable. On nice days, they go in two or three times a day. It’s a special treat that doesn’t get old. So thankful that we finally are able to go in! That was a long wait. . .